Discussion

I hate the different variations of continental breakfast, there should be only one. That way when they say continental breakfast it’s not a guessing game of what you will actually get. I know there is a basic guide line, but maybe they should update it and make that the permanent one. That way it’s either full breakfast (yes one set of standards for that as well) or continental, either way you would know what your getting. The only time it will change will be the typ of hotel you stay in, from economy to luxury.

Depending on the size and type of hotel would determine who makes the decision. A larger hotel with a restaurant might have a F&B director who would make the decision of what would be profitable to put on the breakfast menu. It could also be done by the Executive Chef, who makes up the menu and presents it to the F&B director. The restaurant manager would look at the food cost (labor, price of product) and compare it to food sales. May also keep a journal of the number of guests served that day and compare it to the same day last week, month, year to establish a trend or margin of comparison. For smaller Hotels that only have continental breakfast, standards are starting to change, owners/operators are now changing the standards to meet the demand of a well rounded healthy breakfast. Before was starch and “cold” items offered, but now more and more hotels are interrupting “hot” menu items set up as a buffet style. Fruit is also becoming more and more demanding, which is difficult to control waste because of the short time frame. All these changes happening does increase the food cost to the hotel but that can be made up in the rate. I believe that if there is not a certain set of standards set hotels will continue to compete for the better continental breakfast and the smaller hotels will suffer in food cost to try and keep up.
(http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/10707/Changing-expectations-at-breakfast)

From my experience in hotels, you find many of the economy hotels taking after the luxury hotels after a few years of rolling out a new service/product. I like how Hyatt Hotels has made all of their hotels across United States the same if not very similar. They offer the same layout from the placement of the TV to the coffee machine, it allows business travellers to feel at home/familiar with their surroundings. Sandals Resorts, Intl. , has just released Free WIi-Fi for all guests at their properties, even to the edge of the water. This was a pet peeve of my friends and me, that we had to pay 60$/ week for wifi that sometimes worked. I would have to say a huge pet-peeve of mine would be on a lot of fun/economy cruise ships they constantly deliver ice to your room and have an inventory person come check on the room once a day. You feel pressured and almost wronged not to take one. Another pet-peeve of mine, is at Radisson hotels they offer SleepNumber beds, but out of the 6 I’ve stayed at, two of my beds were either extremely loud or leaking causing the pump to turn on in the middle of the night. This goes hand-in-hand with hotels investing in cheap couch/cot beds. Lastly, another pet-peeve is the hotel/resortr/cruise TV channel that reverts back too when you turn on the TV every time. It takes time to scroll through the often menu-less TV lisitings, and the last thing I want to hear is the offers on Room Service that is costly and closes at 8pm, in the foreground of elevator music.

As stated in the article, we are now entering 2015 and WIFI is a part of everything from work to leisure. It’s hard to get people off their devices now a days. So why do some hotels still have WIFI issues? It may be because they are still not upgraded to handle the multiple devices at such a large capacity. When WIFI first came out there weren’t that many devices, people weren’t that dependant on it. No that it’s becoming more a demand, owners/operators are looking into the cost of upgrading their WIFI and noticing the bottom dollar being a large sum. But what if they did take the hit and put out the money for an upgrade? I believe it may increase the loyalty of guests, which in turns gains more profit. Not to mention more guests are requesting a discount or refund for not having adequate WIFI to meet they demands. Therefor the hotel is losing money, where as upgrading the WIFI is just an investment that will have a returnable profit. (http://www.mainstreet.com/article/why-hotel-wifi-sucks-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/page/2). In your case of not having WIFI in Montreal, wasn’t this the place that didn’t even have a night stand or parking, not surprised about the WIFI but would have asked for a discount because of your experience.

Kim,
Thanks for your comment…I appreciate it.
Our industry is really quite slow to adopt technology. I think that when WIFI became available, hotels saw it as a revenue centre, just like the phone. Others had made it a value added service like Fairmont who offers it free to President’s Club members.
It is now seen by most chains as an amenity, just like soap.
Do you ever use WIFI in a restaurant? So many do a poor job in getting it set up which is odd since it is so important these days. Food for thought.
Ian

I have not used WIFI in a restaurant. When I go to a restaurant it’s to interact with the people I have arrived with. Maybe restaurants are trying to keep person to person interactions still intact. Humanity has become more dependant of technologies usage and capabilities that they have forgotten how to talk to each other, I see people just sit there in silence if there is no technology open. Food for thought, have people forgotten how to interact with each other with out technology?

You are right, but lack of WIFI hasn’t stopped families from being absorbed their phones over dinner. The chain restaurants such as Boston Pizza, Swiss Chalet and Kelsey’s plus others attract families who don’t talk as much over a meal. I am not sure, but what I have seen, it is not only the younger generation. I have seen parents ignore their children during a meal.
Yes, I think the answer to your question is yes…

Sad and people wonder why I hate technology. I grew up in a family where phones were not permitted when we were eating dinner. It was a time for your to talk about your day, get back in touch with your family, keep the family bond strong and social skills intact. Now I don’t have any awkward moments of silence when eating. 🙂